Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) Receives "Neutral" Rating from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued their neutral rating on shares of Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT - Free Report) in a research report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $7.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust's stock, down from their previous price objective of $8.00.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on RWT. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Redwood Trust from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com raised Redwood Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Redwood Trust from $8.50 to $9.50 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Redwood Trust from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $8.03.

Redwood Trust Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE RWT traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $6.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,175,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,060,600. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.13. Redwood Trust has a 52-week low of $5.45 and a 52-week high of $8.15. The company has a current ratio of 44.36, a quick ratio of 44.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.55. The stock has a market cap of $924.57 million, a P/E ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 1.57.

Redwood Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.73%. This is a positive change from Redwood Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Redwood Trust's payout ratio is presently 123.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Redwood Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Redwood Trust by 6.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,611,264 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $112,945,000 after buying an additional 941,223 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its position in Redwood Trust by 48.8% during the second quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 906,512 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,883,000 after acquiring an additional 297,100 shares during the last quarter. NFC Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Redwood Trust by 127.7% in the third quarter. NFC Investments LLC now owns 484,975 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,749,000 after purchasing an additional 271,975 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Redwood Trust by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 976,283 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $6,336,000 after purchasing an additional 174,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Redwood Trust in the third quarter worth $1,217,000. 74.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Redwood Trust Company Profile

Redwood Trust, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty finance company in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Residential Consumer Mortgage Banking, Residential Investor Mortgage Banking, and Investment Portfolio. The Residential Consumer Mortgage Banking segment operates a mortgage loan conduit that acquires residential loans from third-party originators for subsequent sale, securitization, or transfer to its investment portfolio.